Saudi prince Al-Waleed eyes investment opportunities in Egypt

Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal is seriously following up with new investment opportunities in Egypt, according to Legal Advisor Mohamed Sami Gamal El-Din, after the Egyptian Administrative Court rejected a case that claimed the invalidity of the Toshka contract.

“The Egyptian court ruling rejecting the invalidity of Toshka’s sales contract to Al-Waleed exonerated him and sent a trustful message to fiscal and business communities, whether international or local ones. The message is that Egypt honours its agreements,” Gamal El-Din.

“Egypt is fixing its economic path through legislative and administrative reforms, made lately to improve the business environment,” said Gamal El-Din. He added that Al-Waleed adheres to Toshka’s project and that work on the project is going in accordance with the agreement concluded with the government.

The eighth circuit of the Administrative Court, presided over by Judge Bahaa El-Din Yehia Zahdy, refused a case regarding the invalidity of Toshka’s land sales contract. The contract was concluded between the minister of agriculture and the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) owned by Al-Waleed last week.

Lawyer Shehata Mohamed Shehata, and others, had filed a case against Al-Waleed as the company’s legal representative, the prime minister in his capacity, the minister of agriculture in his capacity and the Central Auditing Organization (CAO). Shehata claimed that the Toshka’s land sales contract was invalid, claiming it was against the law and constitution.

Shehata requested the land’s withdrawal and distribution among graduated youth for cultivation and that the administrative entity should pay the expenses and fees. He also requested the suspension of the cabinet’s administrative decision to sell Toshka’s land to Al-Waleed.

Gamal El-Din said the ruling is considered to be the first implementation for the decree-law no. 32 for 2014, which gave parties under a contract the sole right to file a case against the concluded contracts between the state and the investor. External parties who are not included in the contract are forbidden from filing a case against it.

In 2011, the government reached an agreement with Al-Waleed which allows the KHC to utilise 25,000 acres, 10 acres through the company’s ownership of the land, while the remaining 15,000 acres would be utilised through the usufruct system for three years. Afterwards, these acres are expected to become under the company’s ownership, after cultivation.

After January 2011, there was a big dispute about the government’s privatising approximately 100,000 acres to the KHC. After signing the new contract in June 2011, the Egyptian government took back 75,000 acres of the land that was owned by the KHC.